WRC Sweden 2018 Betting Odds and Tips

The 2018 World Rally Championship moves to Sweden on 15th February for the second round of the season, with Sebastien Ogier again the driver to beat following his victory in Monte Carlo. Can the Frenchman claim back-to-back wins or could the wintry conditions favour someone else?

How the Bookies See it

The Rally Sweden Course

Covering a total distance of more than 1,400km and consisting of 19 competitive stages over four days, the route for this year’s Rally Sweden will provide a gruelling test of driver handling on snowy roads. Rally general manager Glenn Olsson has described the roads as ‘almost perfect’ for both competitors and fans as there is ‘full snow’ on all the forest roads and large snow banks lining the stages. The action begins in Karlstad with big power slides, before crossing over the border to Norway and then returning for the final stages in Sweden and the big climax at Torsby.

Form

Five-time world champion Sebastien Ogier began his bid for a sixth straight title in fine style in Monte Carlo last month, leading from the start to the finish despite a couple of dramatic spins early on. Ott Tanak finished almost a minute further back in second, with Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke just behind.

Ogier has won the Rally Sweden in two of the past three seasons, triumphing in both 2015 and 2016. Latvala also has a superb record on the snowy roads of Scandinavia, having won here last year and in 2014.

Previous Podiums

Position

2017

2016

2015

2014

1st

Jari-Matti Latvala

Sebastien Ogier

Sebastien Ogier

Jari-Matti Latvala

2nd

Ott Tanak

Hayden Paddon

Thierry Neuville

Andreas Mikkelsen

3rd

Sebastien Ogier

Mads Ostberg

Andreas Mikkelsen

Mads Ostberg

Sports.net’s View

The bookmakers are finding it hard to split the top few drivers ahead of the Rally Sweden, with Andreas Mikkelsen, Tanak and Thierry Neuville all being given marginally shorter odds than Ogier. The Rally Sweden does provide a different challenge to most other events and competitors such as Norway’s Mikkelsen and Latvala of Finland will be very accustomed to snowy conditions. Even Norwegian Mads Ostberg, who will be doing a one-off drive with Citroen, could be worth a flutter at long odds of 16/1, but the smart money is surely on Ogier to do what he does best and burn off the competition.

He might not be as familiar with the snowy Scandinavian roads as some of his rivals but his record in Sweden is still exceptional. Ogier can be backed at 6/1 with 888Sport to make it two wins out of two for the season, while he is also priced at evens just to finish in the top three.

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